Missing The Poison
by hilbend
Summary: Annabeth has been mad at Percy ever since they kissed at the bottom of the lake. When they are in the middle of a camp game, something goes wrong and Percy's powers get taken away. Percy and Annabeth have to figure out how to get along for long enough to complete their quest to get them back.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi there! This is actually my first story, so please excuse any grammar or spelling errors. I'm just getting in the groove of writing, so updates might be spontaneous. Please feel free to leave reviews. Thanks guys!**

Percy opened his eyes and sighed. Once again he was covered in water at 5am, and he was really starting to get pissed off about this. Lately he had been having some very vivid dreams about a kiss with a certain daughter of Athena on the bottom of the lake, and his powers had been acting up and levitating the water from the springs in the Poseidon cabin to his bunk, hovering in a beautiful glistening orb. The second he woke up it would drop on him, and then he would be drenched. This was the third time this week, and he was starting to run out of clean boxers.

Percy groaned and got out of bed. As he was already up, maybe he could get some sword practice before everyone else woke up. After all, the camp games were today and he really needed to get ready since he had spent most of the time they were allotted to prepare in the lake trying to figure out why his powers were being so weird. Besides, it's not like he needed to go over strategy. He was always grouped with Annabeth, and Wise Girl always had a plan.

Grabbing a fresh camp shirt and some shorts, he dressed and made his way out, wincing at the mess covering the once pristine room. He knew that if Annabeth was here she would make him clean it up, due to the fact that cabin inspections were tomorrow, but he didn't care right now. He just needed to get somewhere open so that he could uncap Riptide and take a few swings. Lately things had been awkward between him and Annabeth. After the kiss (you know, the big one) their relationship was weird. Percy wasn't quite sure what was going on between them, but one thing was for sure. He couldn't wait to kiss Annabeth again.

Speak of the devil, Annabeth clearly had had the same idea and was already dismembering dummies, her Celestial bronze dagger glinting as she struck twice, cutting off the mannequin's hand and then stabbing him in the heart. Corn started spilling out of the poor dummy's fabric shell.

As she moved on to the next victim Percy took a moment to admire her deadly beauty. Her blond hair swung around in perfect curls while her gray eyes reflected the maelstrom of straw swirling around her. He thought that this was when she looked the most amazing: when she was covered in little pieces of fabric and corn dust. He knew that if he waited any longer she would notice he was there, so he spoke up, trying to assume a suave pose leaning against the doorway, but failed and fell.

"Well, Wise Girl, I assume that you are up at this hour for the same reason that I…"

He stopped as he noticed the wetness covering her face. As she stared at him, half panting and half sobbing, he realized that she was in one of her moods again.

When he had said awkward earlier, he really should have said insane. Annabeth had been avoiding him for the last two weeks after his birthday and the lake kiss, and he had no idea why. Whenever he came near, she would walk away, either with Malcolm or one of the other Athena kids. At first it didn't seem like a big deal, but then the dreams came, and with it, the water. Apparently, since this was the biggest bump in their road of friendship (and maybe more) so far, his powers were getting seriously messed up. At least, that's what Chiron had told Percy when he showed up sopping wet at the porch of the Big House. So yeah, things had been insane, and he was kind of miffed. Was his kissing that bad? Anyways, avoiding him had apparently turned into hating him.

"Gods, Percy, you're everywhere", Annabeth screamed as she sheathed her dagger and wiped at her face. "I can never get away from you! You're like a parasite, constantly attached to my side."

As she dragged the slain dummies to the side of the room, she continued her rant. She walked past Percy to get to the door, and as she stormed past, he could swear that he could see steam coming out of her ears.

When she was gone, Percy sighed. He had to deal with this now, and he had no idea when it would stop or what was causing it. But until it was time for breakfast, he needed to practice. He walked to the corner to where Annabeth had dumped the dummies and laughed. He couldn't help it. This whole thing was so funny. The face of the dummies that she had killed had two marks of a very distinctive sea green on them. Well, he thought, at least it isn't the real me.

—

When Percy didn't want to be somewhere, he _really_ didn't want to be somewhere. And that was exactly how he was feeling when he walked into breakfast and sat at his table. Due to some poor planning on some ignorant demigods part, the Athena and Poseidon tables were right next to each other. As he sat down at his table, currently empty (Tyson was with his dad) Annabeth glared at him and turned away, talking to Malcolm.

Percy sighed. When Annabeth wasn't sitting next to him like she normally was, all the girls in… well every cabin seemed to take it as a free invitation to move over to his table. He knew that he had a minute, tops, before they descended on him. And when he felt someone slide in next to him, he prepared himself for the eyelash batting that would no doubt ensue. Nico sighed.

"Still don't know why she's so mad at you?"

"Nope" Percy replied.

They both recieved their food. A plate of blue waffles and whipped cream for Percy and a weird combination of pomegranate seeds and bacon for Nico. They both got up to burn some for their dads. They had to walk right past Annabeth, so he couldn't help but hear some of the conversation that was going on. Nico nodded at him and kept going, knowing what he was up to.

"Annabeth, you really should just tell him about it," said Malcolm. "You're torturing the poor guy, with these weird mood swings and your tempers"

Damn right, Percy thought.

"He probably doesn't even know what he did wrong! You've got to admit, the guys instincts are strong, but he sure as hell doesn't know a thing about romance."

"I know, but I still can't forgive him for…" Annabeth's words drifted off as she realized how slow Percy was walking past him, and she looked up at him with a glare that could curdle milk.

"Why don't you mind your own business, and move along".

Percy was forced to walk past them even as his mind was spinning.

So that was why she was so mad at him! He must have done something to piss her off, and all he had to do was figure out what it was and make it right. As he put some food in the brazier, he prayed that it would all work out. But all those thoughts fluttered away as Chiron stood up at the head table. Percy finished burning his food and walked back to his table.

"Now, my friends, I know that we usually don't start a game until after lunch, but today we are going to try something else to shake it up. Grover," and here Chiron stopped to nod towards the satyr. "realized that all of you are seriously lacking in your wilderness survival skills, so we are going to play a game of how long our teams of two can last in the woods with limited supplies! Each team will be equipped with a flare to signal for help, due to the fact that the woods have been temporarily filled with monsters. Now, let's announce the partners."

Oh no, Percy thought. Chiron told him that this week's game was in groups of three, and he was hoping that someone like Nico Di Angelo or Will Solace would at least be able to prevent them from ripping each other's throats out. Chiron droned on and on, until he stopped at the bottom of the list, looked up and smirked. Crap, whispered Percy.

"Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase"

Shoot.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- So, I've been working day and night on this chapter, because all of you that favorited and followed have inspired me. This chapter is a little rough, so feel free to leave a review!**

Percy loved the woods. The smell of the pine trees, the whispers of the wind, the feeling of being in a place so pure, so innocent and untainted that nothing could go wrong. Keep in mind though, Percy loved the regular woods. He hated the camp woods. As he crashed through the underbrush, with his pack full of camp supplies bouncing and Riptide out in front of him, he reflected on why these woods sucked.

They were full of monsters

They were dark and creepy

They were full of monsters

He could hear Annabeth running behind him, panting almost as hard as him. The giant stick bugs behind him (don't ask) were getting closer. They had to find a good spot to make a stand. He saw a clearing ahead, and and pushed his aching legs a little harder.

The clearing was right ahead of Percy, and it looked… actually nice, surprisingly. It had a floor of loamy earth, the softness of which he barely noticed beneath his burning feet. There was a fire pit already constructed, and all around them the dark and menacing woods had suddenly turned into a haven full of chirping birds and dappled light. And there was also a spring of fresh water that he didn't see but could sense.

"This isn't right", panted Annabeth. She turned around with her knife at the ready and they assumed their stance, back to back, like they had since they were twelve. As the stick bugs launched themselves toward him, he ducked and rolled right under the belly of the bug. As he saw the weak spot between the large plates of exoskeleton, he thrust Riptide through.

The bug dissolved into dust and Percy was showered in it. He shook his head to get the gunk out of his eyes and looked around. Annabeth had almost killed one and the other two were crawling towards him. They were surprisingly fast for insects.

He yelled defiantly and ran towards them. He immediately impaled one in the eye, and the thing dissolved. Not wasting a second, he swung at the other one. This one was smarter tough, and it dodged to his left. He feinted right and killed the beast. For a second Percy thought he escaped unscathed but then he felt the fire in his left arm.

He looked over at his arm and almost fainted. The thing had taken a whole chunk out of his forearm, and it was producing rivers of blood. Annabeth killed the last creature, momentarily forgot how mad she was at him and laughed.

"Percy, can you believe how easy that was! It's almost like Chiron is taking it easy on us. We are definitely going to win!" She turned around to high five him and stopped in her tracks. Percy was still staring at his arm. He turned towards her and he knew that he was probably really pale. He gulped.

"Annabeth that's a lot of blood" he said, almost falling to the ground.

Annabeth rushed over to him and grabbed the med kit. As she bandaged his arm and poured some nectar on the wound, he took deep breaths and tried to stay calm. His arm sizzled and as he watched the blood started clotting.

"Here, eat this," said Annabeth. She had pulled her hair back in a ponytail, and as he stared at her she offered him a piece of ambrosia. He chewed it quickly, barely even noticing the taste of blue chocolate chip cookies (yes blue had a taste).

"How bad it it?"

"Not too bad, just disgusting. The bug hit a major artery, that's why it was bleeding so much" Annabeth seemed to remember that she hated him and turned away. "I'm going to start putting up the tent and start a fire. As much as I think this place is bad news, you can't be moved". She walked away and started to unpack the knapsack.

Percy rolled over and got to his knees. Since Annabeth was obviously not going to help him, he got to his feet with lots of groaning and moaning. He slowly walked over to the campfire pit and grabbed the matches and started a fire. There were hot dogs and a grate to go over the fire, so he got them cooking, and when they were finished he handed one over to Annabeth, who had finished setting up the tent and walked over to sit across from Percy on the logs that were conveniently placed there.

"Sooooo…" said Percy. "What's the plan for tomorrow, then? We somehow have to get more food, and survive the hordes of monsters that will no doubt flood our campsite"

"I don't know. Something about this place isn't right. I know I've been saying it a bunch, but I really have a bad feeling. It's almost too good to be true." said Annabeth

"I don't know. Chiron said that he had prepared some random places in the woods, and only the lucky teams would be able to find them"

"But this place…. It's almost like we were supposed to find it."

"Maybe we were. You know that Chiron has a soft spot for you. You're the only camper that he trusts with everything."

"Whatever. You need to rest. Here, I'll help you get to the tent."

Annabeth hurried over to the other side of the fire to help him up. She put her arm around his shoulders and somehow they limped over to the tent. He ducked inside and lay down in his sleeping bag. The warmth of the fleece and down lining enveloped him, and for the first time since this morning, he actually felt safe. Annabeth laid down in her own sleeping bag and crawled towards the other side of the tent. They'd slept in cramped spaces together before, during quests, but this time was different. There was so much chemistry between them that he felt like the tent might explode. So instead of having to endure another second of this unbearable tension, he willed himself to sleep, and immediately a dream enveloped him.

He was standing on the ocean floor, chilling with some dolphins. They were talking about their favorite currents to surf when all of a sudden, the bubble of air around him popped and the water rushed in. Percy wasn't worried at first, because even without the air he could breathe underwater, but when he tried to inhale he started choking. He couldn't breathe, he was suffocating, drowning! He tried to make the water propel him up to the surface so that he could breathe, but he couldn't. All of his powers weren't working, and just as the spots dancing in his vision almost enveloped his sight in black, the scene shifted.

He was sitting in Cabin Two: Hera's cabin. There were cows dancing around him and the goddess herself was sitting on the throne that her statue counterpart usually occupied. Hera looked at him and smiled.

"Hello little demigod. How goes your competition?" she said. Percy was confused as to why she seemed to care, because she hated them.

"Well, it goes sucky, I guess. It's only the first day and I'm already hurt, and Annabeth already has to take care of me." he replied.

"Ah, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. I hate that little demigod. But that is not the point. There will be bumps in the road soon, but you must remain strong." Percy frowned.

Since when did Hera care about him? Sure, sometimes she popped up in random places, but she never had actually seemed to give a crap about how his life was going. But before he could ask her about what she meant, he woke up.

When Percy woke up, he groaned. His whole arm hurt, even more than yesterday. Beside him, Annabeth snored on, peacefully. In the middle of the night she had rolled over towards him and had rested her chin on his shoulder. He sighed and shook her gently to wake her up. Based on how his arm was feeling, he would need her to take a look at it. She opened her eyes and yelped.

"Why the hell are you so close to me?! Were we spooning? How dare you!" she yelled.

"I didn't do anything!" he replied, just as forcefully. "You rolled over in your sleep and started hugging me!"

She blushed. "I'm sure that I didn't mean too. Besides, this whole conversation is highly off topic. How is your arm?"

"Gods, don't remind me. It hurts more than ever. I think I must have yanked it in the night or something, because there is no way that the ambrosia hasn't fixed it yet. I mean, it's powerful stuff" Annabeth got out of her sleeping bag and kneeled by his forearm. She took off the bandages and frowned.

"I mean, it's healed, so it's really weird that you're still feeling pain. Are you sure that it still hurts?" Percy thought that it did, but the more he thought about it the more the pain seemed to disappear, until there was only the underlying ache of a freshly healed wound.

"I guess that it's fine, but this whole thing is hella weird. I mean, now it just hurts a little bit, but when I woke up a minute ago I almost passed out"

"Whatever", said Annabeth.

Now that Percy wasn't in danger of dying, she didn't have to be nice to him. She got up and walked out of the tent and as he got up and out of his sleeping bag, he could hear her putting the wood in the firepit and starting a blaze to cook the last of their food. Percy walked out of the tent and looked around. The glade was as perfect as ever, and even though that now he could see what Annabeth meant about everything being a little too… good. When the food was ready, he sat next to Annabeth on a log and ate.

"So, what's the plan, Wise Girl", he said.

She half smiled. "There isn't one, well at least, not really. We at least need to find some kind of food, and we should also move on from this place. We've gotta keep moving if we are going to win this thing, Seaweed Brain".

Percy glanced up from his food. The use of the nickname shocked him. Maybe she was actually getting to the point where she was going to forgive him. But then the shadow fell across her face again, along with the worry and stress that he knew that would inevitably come with it.

"Oh, kay. Let's get moving"

They got everything packed up and headed out, but they weren't hiking an half hour when they came across the clearing again, and again, and again. The fourth time that they saw it, they were being chased once more by monsters. This time, however, the monsters were not giant stick bugs. They were giant ladybugs. Big difference. And once again, when they faced them, Percy was stuck with the majority when Annabeth was only stuck with one. After killing the first, he turned to the others.

Although he didn't look tired, he was. It felt like there was a giant weight sitting on his chest, and after slaying another one of the bugs, he was sweating like a pig. Annabeth looked over at him and gasped. He felt so faint… and everything was going dark. He tried to summon some water over from the spring, but for some reason he couldn't. As the world went black he could vaguely hear her screaming and running over to him. HIs last thought was: Damn, this ground is really, really, soft.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello again! Sorry for the gap between uploads, you guys know how the holiday season is. This chapter is mostly filler so that I could get the quest going. Thanks for reading!**

Percy woke up with Chiron and Annabeth looking over him, and immediately felt wrong. There was something missing, and though it sounded cheesy, it felt like that something was an important part of him. They had very concerned looks on their faces, and as they moved over to let Will Solace through, he finally found the courage to speak up.

"How did I get here?" he rasped. Annabeth and Chiron frowned.

"Well, after you passed out, Annabeth tried to revive you but you wouldn't wake up. She sent out the emergency flare and when the healers got there to come help, they couldn't help you either. When they finally got here, to the Big House, you were even worse. Thrashing and screaming, and even when we tried to pour water on you, it didn't help. Will has been working day and night on you, and it's been three days since the competition" said Chiron. His stallion lower half was cantering around nervously and pawing at the ground.

"So, what's wrong with me? You all are tiptoeing around me like I'm about to explode. What happened?" Percy said with a grimace.

Annabeth shifted her weight and sighed, glancing at Chiron quickly for reassurance. "There is something up with your powers with water. We kept on trying to help you by giving you water, but it didn't help. In fact, It's almost like it made it worse. Your body rejected the water so violently that we had to stop"

Percy sighed and turned away from the others so that they wouldn't see his face. Now he knew what was missing: his powers over water. He had survived for twelve years without said gifts, but somehow, now that they were gone, it felt like a part of him was gone.

"Then I guess we'll just have to get them back" he declared.

"Chiron and I were talking about that as well. We both agreed that the poison from the giant stick bugs must've been the cause of this illness. He said that Grover never admitted any giant insect monsters, so someone must've placed them there. We think that the best chance for getting your powers back is to go on a quest, and for a quest we need a prophecy" Right here Annabeth paused and looked him right in the eyes, with a smirk dancing on her lips. "It's time to visit Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

When Percy walked out of the Big House, he was amazed at the amount of people that had crowded outside of it. From the middle of the crowd, Nico di Angelo pushed through.

"Percy! What happened! Annabeth Iris-Messaged me and she said that you nearly died!" Nico seemed to realize that he seemed like he actually cared, and quickly changed his tune. "I mean…. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't dead because I don't want to have to deal with you down in the Underworld"

"Hello there Nico. If you don't mind, I have to get to the Oracle's cave" he said, trying to shake the otherworldly teen off. Nico got the message and slouched off, probably to go sulk in a dark corner somewhere.

Annabeth looked at him and snorted. "You know, he's not that angry boy who followed the ghost of Minos through the Labyrinth. He's changed. He's… better now"

Percy frowned. Even though he knew that the son of Hades was different, he still was wary of him. That boy had incredible power within him, but also incredible pain. He had made bad choices before, and as much as he wanted to hope that he would not make them again, there was no reason to believe that.

He was still dressed in the clothes that he had taken with him into the woods, so he dropped by the Poseidon cabin to go change. When he walked in, something was immediately different. All the springs and ponds had run dry, and the cabin air, which usually smelled like the ocean, now smelled like nothing. Just stale air. That didn't bode well for the success of this trip, so Percy changed and got out out of there as fast as he could.

Percy stumbled his way up the hill to Rachel's cave, groaning all the way there. Although the ambrosia and intensive healing had helped relieve the pain in his arm, his whole body still hurt. As they pulled away the curtain that hung at the mouth of the cave, they caught Rachel in the middle of painting a wonderful… blob. Percy snorted. It looked like Rachel was finally trying her hand at the Picasso style. She turned away from the canvas and smiled at him through her paint splattered face.

"Hello Percy!" she said with exuberance. Then she noticed Annabeth and her smile dampened a little. "And Annabeth. I guess you need a prophecy. No one ever comes to me for anything else"

She grabbed the three legged stool that sat in the corner, and dragged it over to the center of the room. She perched on it and crossed her ankles, her feet fiddling the whole time.

"Well, tell me a little bit about your quest. The Oracle needs a little bit of specification. Just stop whenever… well, you know. The green mist comes."

Annabeth took charge and started to tell them about their predicament. She was just getting to the part where Percy collapsed (yippee) when all of a sudden Rachel seized up and all the lights in the cave went out, all at once. Green mist came and surrounded her so tightly that Percy could only see her eyes, glowing green in the dark cave. Rachel started to speak in the raspy voice of the oracle

"Two loves keep themselves apart,

Unable to show their real hearts.

The son of Poseidon will travel far and wide,

To reveal Athena's daughter's true side.

But beware, for after an almost death,

Everything might change in a breath."

Rachel slumped down on her stool after finishing, and for a moment Percy thought that she had fallen asleep, but then she looked up and smiled.

"Well, what did I say? You know I can never remember what the Oracle foretells, and I'm curious," she said, with a glance at Annabeth. Percy could almost see the gears turning in Annabeth's head as she tried to over analyze the meaning of the prophecy. Seeing that she wasn't really tuned in to the conversation, Percy repeated it, word for word, to Rachel, who thought for a second and turned to him.

"I'm usually really good about figuring out the meaning of Delphi's prophecies, but this one I'm not sure of. But I can give you a hint of where to go first."

"Really? Can you tell us, because we don't really have any hints as to where my powers are hiding. Like any," Percy said.

"Sure. While I was in the trance, I kept on seeing a vision of one place: Grand Central Terminal. I have a feeling that your quest will start there"

Percy knew where Grand Central was, vaguely, but navigation was always Annabeth's strong suit. That and everything except for random bursts of comprehension and awesome slaying monster sprees. That was his job. So he shook her out of her reverie and they said goodbye to Rachel. They climbed down the hill, told Chiron where they were going and went their separate ways to get the supplies they needed. Percy hurried so that he could get out of the dead looking Cabin Three, and met Annabeth at the top of Half Blood Hill.

"Ready?", he said.

"Never', she replied.

They got into the car with Argus and drove out of Camp for what was hopefully not the last time


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi! It's been awhile since I last updated this story, and I don't really have a good excuse. I kind of just lost interest in it, because I didn't see the story really going anywhere. I edited some of the chapters that I had written but hadn't posted yet, and I think I have it going in a direction that I'm a little more satisfied with. It's still a work in progress, though, so keep that in mind. Thanks!**

Argus dropped them off a few blocks from Grand Central. _Well, it's official_ , Percy thought. _We're on our own again_. They walked in silence until Percy cleared his throat.

"When we get there, what are we going to be looking for? I know this is probably the least direction we've gotten on a quest ever, but I figure you have at least a idea of what to do"

Annabeth rolled her eyes at him and kept walking.

"No, I'm serious. I have like, no clue what we are doing. But you'll figure out a plan like always, right Wise Girl?"

They arrived at the Station and shoved and pushed their way past the fleeing tourists (?) through the doors into the large domed ceiling of the main terminal. All of a sudden, both of them stopped dead in their tracks, somehow avoiding being trampled by the spooked mortals. Annabeth blinked and rubbed her eyes, and Percy did the same.

"Is that really there?" she asked.

"I think so", replied Percy.

Before them stood, or rather laid, a giant stag that had crushed most of the interior of the room. It was the size of ten semis, and probably about as heavy too. It was dark grey, and it's eyes were terrifyingly red. Percy had no clue what the mortals where seeing, but he had no doubt that it was horrible.

"Annabeth, what the hell is that thing?" he said, his voice cracking.

"I have no clue," she replied.

They walked towards it anyways. It stood up, its antlers catching most of the debris falling from the once beautiful columns, and as it bent down to look them in the eyes, they barely managed to keep from being crushed. The giant bloodshot red eye stared at them, and Percy noticed that the iris was glowing, bathing them with an unearthly light.

"Hello, little demigods. How goes your day?', the thing said.

"It was going well until you showed up" shouted Percy, trying to summon his usual bravado.

"Wait," whispered Annabeth to Percy. "We don't know if this thing is friendly or not"

"Well, judging by the massive size and glowing eyes, I think we can assume that it isn't," he whispered back.

Their attention was drawn back to the stag when it started to speak again. "Are you, perchance, Annabeth Chase and Perseus Jackson?"

 _Dammit_ , thought Percy. If this thing was using his full name, there was a 99% chance that it was not friendly.

"If so, your day is about to get much worse," continued the monster. "If not, well… your day is going to get a lot worse too. It's really a lose-lose situation, but I'll give you a much easier death if you just tell me the truth."

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other and back at the giant stag. Their eyes darted back and forth as they had a silent argument. Annabeth's stormy gray eyes declared " _Let's just lie and see if he'll free us, and kill him if we need to. That way, less people know we're on this quest_ " and Percy's sea green ones said " _Let's tell him the truth. We could use an easy fight, and I'm pretty sure a lot of people already know, judging by this monster. "_ They kept glaring at each other in a contest of will, until Percy looked down at the ground, vanquished.

Annabeth cleared her throat and looked right into the giant's large, crimson eye. "No, we aren't those demigods that you speak of. Now, is there any chance that you can just let us go?"

"No, none," responded the stag.

"Fine," sighed Annabeth. "I guess we'll have to kill you then," she declared, while drawing her dagger and getting into a battle stance.

The thing seemed to sigh, too, and the giant eye retreated up into the sky, where the rest of it was waiting. Percy allowed himself to hope for a second that it had changed its mind and was leaving, when it spoke again, its gravelly voice deeply at odds with the rest of its graceful figure.

"A pity. I was much enjoying life again, and it took me so long to get here"

Percy immediately felt the familiar rush of adrenaline flood his system as he prepared for battle. Although in battle he was always on the verge of dying, it was also where he felt the most at home. Here his ADHD was an advantage rather than a weakness, and he could always rely on his instincts. He ran towards the stag, uncapping Riptide as he went. Although he had no idea what he was doing, he trusted Annabeth to come up with a plan. He ran onto a discarded information desk, and jumped off, landing on one of the legs of the stag. Climbing up to the back while the stag was moving was rather hard, but he did it anyways. When he got on the thing's back, he started to stab everywhere. The great gushes of blood nearly knocked him of his perch, and once again Percy found himself missing his powers over water, although they couldn't have possibly helped him now. He paused in his frenzied stabbing to look over at Annabeth, who was going in and out of invisibility, and when she looked at him and pointed up, he assumed that he was supposed to get to the thing's head, and started to climb once again.

He finally got up to the face, and once again went with the strategy of blindly stabbing and slashing everywhere. Although he stayed on for a pretty long time, considering the distinct lack of handholds and the fact that he was on a moving animal, he thing shook him off and he landed on the ground, rolling on instinct. He got up and groaned. After pulling a stunt like that, he was sure to be sore tomorrow, if he would even make it to tomorrow.

"Annabeth, how are we going to kill this thing? Even Riptide isn't making much of a dent on it!", he yelled, swinging his sword as he charged the stag again.

"I'm working on it!", she shouted back. "Just distract it for a while so that I can think of something!"

Percy nodded grimly and set to work. He ran around the stag's legs, weaving in and out while slashing at the most vulnerable points of it's hooves. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Annabeth climbing up through the rubble up to one of the few walls that was still standing until she perched at the top of one of the two colonnades flanking the entryway. Her face lit up with the expression that Percy knew meant that she had a (hopefully) genius idea. She looked down at him and frantically motioned for him to get out of the building. He nodded back at her and ran for the doors, weaving through unmanned kiosks and stands as he did.

He got at least a hundred feet away from the structure before he doubled over, panting for breath. Without his godly gifts, everything was a lot harder. He turned to look back just in time to see the whole roof collapse onto the awaiting monster. Percy stood there, stunned, and then ran for the ruins.

"Annabeth!", he cried out, hoping against hope that she had survived the cave in. "Annabeth!"

"It's charming to see such devotion, but I'm fine.", said a familiar voice from behind him. Percy turned around and smiled in relief as he saw who was smirking at him. He ran at Annabeth and crushed her in a hug. After a few seconds he stepped back quickly, trying not to make nit awkward but failing. "

"Do you know where are we going next?", he asked her. "I didn't hear the monster saying anything about any certain location, and generally a god or goddess shows up by this time to tell us where to go"

"Well, the stag is a patron animal of one goddess in particular, and I'm assuming that Artemis didn't send it here on purpose. The last I heard of Thalia, she and the Hunters were holed up in Wisconsin, trying to catch a rogue centaur who was terrorizing the inhabitants. I think we should head over there", she answered.

"So, umm, should we get a bus to Wisconsin?", he asked. "I'm assuming that a train is out of the question, considering that we just destroyed the train station"

"Yes, we should."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **A/N: Mostly filler…. I'm trying to get on a stricter updating schedule and I'm going to try to get updates up once a week and around 5-6 PM Central Time on Fridays. Finals are coming up, though, so there may be a few weeks that I miss. This chapter is mostly filler, and I wrote it pretty quickly, so I hope it doesn't suck too much**

As soon as they walked on the bus, Percy collapsed in a seat, groaning as he sprawled out the best he could. His muscles were already sore, and he was sure that it would only get worse .The other passengers stared at him, obviously not used to the sight of a sweaty and utterly exhausted teen, who was also covered in rubble dust. Annabeth sat down next to him, and looked utterly unimpressed by all his griping and groaning. She had to be exhausted too, but unlike Percy she didn't look like it.

"Get some sleep, Percy. The second we get off this bus, we're going to have to try to track down Thalia and the hunters.", said Annabeth.

Percy's seat was way too small for a lanky teen like him, but he already felt like he like he was going to fall asleep.

"Yeah, I guess I should. Did you get the chance to send an Iris Message to Thalia before we left? ", he asked her, trying to stay awake long enough to hear her answer.

"Yeah. She said that she doesn't know the exact town that they're in, but she's gonna find out by the time we get to Milwaukee", said Annabeth, fiddling with her baseball cap in her lap. She seemed sad, and was slumping, even though she usually had perfect posture.

"Cool" he replied, trying not to make it awkward. "Hey, are you okay? You seem kind of sad. Did I do something? "

"No, it's fine", she replied quietly, turning to the window to watch the scenery blur by.

Percy stared straight ahead at the back of the seat in front of him, and try as he might to stay awake, he immediately felt himself drifting off to sleep. He mentally prepared himself for the onslaught of images to come, as reality slid away and was replaced by the familiar world of his dreams.

He was running, running faster than he had ever ran before, with Annabeth racing ahead of him. They were back at Camp Half Blood, sprinting through the strawberry fields. Annabeth turned around to look at him, laughing. Percy was awestruck. Over the past few months, he had forgotten how beautiful Annabeth was when her forehead wasn't furrowed and when she didn't have bags under her eyes, and looking at this carefree, smiling angel he was reminded of how different their lives would be without the gods.

"Come on, slowpoke!", she teased, turning around to run backwards. "I've seen you run faster than this! Where's your motivation?"

Percy grinned. "I dunno", he shouted back, out of breath.

"I'll give you some. Beat me back to camp, and you'll get a kiss!", she cried, already sprinting ahead faster than Percy thought was possible.

He pumped his legs faster, trying to at least keep Annabeth in his view. But it was all for naught, for no matter how fast he ran she remained far ahead of him. Percy kept running, determined to catch up, but she continued to elude him, tossing her head back to laugh at him, and speeding up. As she disappeared into the horizon, he slowed to a stop, and bent over panting. It was no use chasing after her. He would never catch up to Annabeth, try as he might. He looked up after catching his breath, and saw a girl about his age walking towards him. She was petite, with tawny skin that was glowing in the golden rays of the late afternoon sun. Although her face was hard to make out, he had a feeling that it was as beautiful as the rest of her. As she stopped in front of him, he blurted out the first thing that he thought of, which was

"You're pretty". After a second, Percy realized what he said, and shut his open mouth while blushing furiously. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking. That was rude", he said, mentally chiding himself for even thinking that kind of stuff. Although he and Annabeth weren't technically together, it still felt a bit like cheating to openly hit on a girl, even if it was in a dream.

"Oh, it's quite alright", the girl said, laughing. "It happens a lot. Was that your girlfriend, the one who left you here?".

"Sort of. It's complicated. And she didn't leave me, she's just really competitive. We were having a race, and she didn't want to lose." Percy was still staring at the girl, and although he still couldn't make out the girl's face, he felt like that didn't really matter anymore.

"Really? It looked like she left you to me. Not to judge, but it doesn't seem like she's a very good girlfriend. Even if it is a competition, you don't just leave a person like that". She continued to talk, but she sounded like she was underwater. Percy could hear his name being called distantly, and gradually he swam back into reality. Annabeth was shaking him awake, and as he opened his eyes she stepped back quickly.

"Come on, Percy. We're here", she said, turning her back to him as she reached for the various bags strewn around the compartment.

Percy wiped the sleep in his eyes and sat up, yawning and feeling his jaw crack. They had arrived in Milwaukee, and all of the other passengers in the train could be heard getting their stuff and getting off the train. He stood up and grabbed the bags that Annabeth handed to him, and they started to make their way off of the train.

As they stepped off the train, Annabeth immediately made her way to one of the maps that were helpfully located all around the platform. She looked at it for a few seconds, nodded, and started towards the exit. Percy followed her, jogging slightly to keep up with her incredibly fast pace. She stopped right in front of a water fountain in front of the bathrooms, and pulled a drachma out of her backpack.

"Are you calling Thalia?", asked Percy.

"Yeah", she responded. Annabeth tossed it in, and said the magic words. Soon, the call connected and Thalia's face appeared in the mist.

"Hey guys", she said. "What's up?"

"Hey Thalia", said Annabeth. "We're in Milwaukee for a quest, and we heard that you're in Wisconsin too. Do you think you could tell us where your camp is set up? We came across something weird back in New York, and wanted to talk to Lady Artemis about it"

"Sure", responded Thalia. "Let me check with Lady Artemis to make sure that she's cool with this. Hold on a sec". She disappeared from the image, and they were left staring at the silvery canvas of the tent wall.

Annabeth tapped her foot impatiently, and glanced around at the crowds of people in the terminal. "Do you see anyone that looks suspicious?", she asked Percy. "I have that feeling that we're being watched, and I doubt that leading a horde of monsters to Lady Artemis's camp will make her more inclined to help us".

Percy nodded, and started to look around too. He didn't see anybody acting strange, but now that Annabeth mentioned it, he did have that familiar tingling on the back of his neck that usually meant that someone was watching him. It would be just their luck that the second they arrived at the goddess's camp to ask for help, a monster would attack. Thalia came back into the image, and both of them snapped their heads back from watching for monsters.

"Lady Artemis said it was cool, so you guys can come on down. We're camped a few miles south of Portage, in an abandoned farm. But I've got to ask, what happened to make you guys need the help of the Hunters? Usually when you're on a quest, you don't really accept help"

"Well, it's kind of a long story", responded Annabeth.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Wow, look at me, actually posting on time. This chapter actually has some plot, and another character is introduced! Plus, Annabeth and Percy talk with Artemis, and they figure out where they are going next...**

After telling Thalia all that had happened since they left camp, she agreed that they had some stuff to discuss with Artemis. As Thalia led Percy and Annabeth to the goddess's camp, they passed a girl, around sixteen, that they hadn't seen before. She was feeding the wolves that accompanied the Hunters, and as Percy looked at her, she lifted her face from where she was watching the wolves quarrel over a piece of meat. Percy was immediately struck first by her long, straight, silver hair, that tumbled down her back like a frozen waterfall, and second by the large scar that went from her brow bone, through her right eye, and finally ended just before her cheekbone. He felt like he'd seen her before, and as her hair shifted against her light brown skin, he realized that he was staring.

"Hey Thalia, was that girl back there a new Hunter?" he said, looking away from the girl and focusing instead on his friend's familiar face. "I don't think I've seen her before"

"Yeah. We picked her up back in Minnesota about a month ago. She's definitely a demigod, but we still don't know who her godly parent was. Both of her parents abandoned her when she was a baby, so it could basically be anyone. Anyways, she's a great fighter, so Lady Artemis let her join, even though her heritage is still unknown, and she hasn't exhibited any powers."

They finally arrived at Artemis' tent, and Thalia ducked in to fill her in on what they'd told her. Annabeth turned to him, her expression guarded, but still showing a trace of anger.

"Why do you care if Thalia's picked up another Hunter? You've never shown interest in them before," she demanded.

"Something about that girl seemed familiar. I just wanted to know more about her. That's all, I promise. And why do you care? It's not like we're together or anything".

Percy knew that he had struck home with that comment, and in an almost perverse way, he was glad. She was the one who had decided that she was too good for him after their kiss; this was just the consequence of those actions.

"I don't," she retorted. "I just wanted to know if you thought she was a monster or something. I could care less about what you think about other girls".

They slipped back into sullen silence, their camaraderie of the earlier day forgotten. Thalia slipped out of the tent a few minutes later, and nodded for them to go in.

"Be careful of what you say to her- she's in a good mood today but if you try to blame her she'll turn on you quick," she warned them.

"Don't worry," replied Annabeth. "We won't provoke her."

As they entered the tent, Percy first noticed the large hawk, and then Artemis, whose shoulder the hawk was perched on. She was in the form of a young girl, and appeared to be meditating in a throne-like chair. After a few awkward seconds where Percy and Annabeth stood slightly hunched over due to the low ceiling of the tent and waited for her to address them, she opened her eyes and sat back in her chair. She looked at them for a second, and then took the hawk from her shoulder and put it on a perch next to her.

"Thalia has told me why you have come," she stated, crossing her legs. "Please, sit"

She gestured towards the silver pillows strewn across the room, and Annabeth and Percy both gladly sat down. As Artemis looked down on them, Annabeth cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Lady Artemis, do you have any idea why a giant stag, one of your patron animals, attacked us at Grand Central Station?"

Artemis sighed. "Unfortunately, I fear I know exactly why that happened. I'm sure it was my stupid brother, Apollo. He knows how much I love my animals, and I assume he thought that sending one after some demigods would be a funny way to anger me".

"Why would Apollo do that?" Percy asked. "I thought you two were on good terms!"

"Well, due to a argument we aren't speaking," she replied. Great, another argument between gods, thought Percy. Do they ever get along?

"What was the argument about? I don't mean to intrude, Lady Artemis, but it might help us figure out what to do next," said Percy.

"He offended our Father by providing aid to a minor god that Zeus wanted to punish. When he was brought before the council, I did not advocate against his punishment, since he was clearly in the wrong. After he was punished, he confronted me and we had quite an argument. We haven't been speaking since. I am quite sure that he did this in order to enrage me, seeing that you two are some of my favorite demigods. Rest assured, I will find Apollo and deal with this atrocious misdeed."

Percy nodded. That made sense, although he was a little miffed that they had to be caught in the crossfire. Whenever gods were upset, the mortals paid the price, like always. But Annabeth was shaking her head, and didn't seem to completely accept that explanation.

"Are you telling me that you two got in a little argument, and in order to retaliate, Apollo tried to kill _us_ , even though he has shown us great favor in the past? Something doesn't seem right here"

"Do you dare to question me on this, mortal? Surely I would know more about the affairs of the gods than you would," Artemis thundered.

Annabeth backtracked frantically. "I'm not trying to accuse you of anything, Lady Artemis. It just seems a little drastic, even for Apollo. Has anything else been going on with the gods? Something that would egg him on even more?"

"Why, there have always been countless petty disagreements between us gods. It's part of what makes us the Olympians. But, now that I think about it, there has been a surge in the number of those arguments lately. I assumed that it was just because of the tension after the Second Titan War, but it might be something else. I myself have had arguments with at least half of the council, and I know that others have had more."

Annabeth turned to Percy, looking pensive. "If there is truly a lot of discord among the gods, that could explain why your powers disappeared. Perhaps one of the gods had an argument with your dad, and they took away your powers to get back at him. Everyone knows that you're his favorite child."

Percy looked back at Artemis, and was surprised to see her nodding in agreement. "It is quite likely… we have a tendency to use extreme measures against mortals for petty reasons"

"Do you have any idea who might have anything against Poseidon, or had argued with him recently?" asked Annabeth.

"Actually, yes. I remember Demeter getting in a disagreement with him about a week ago. I don't remember the details but it was something about Poseidon sending a hurricane to destroy some of her followers' crops? I didn't pay much attention because I was arguing with Ares," admitted Artemis.

Annabeth looked at Percy again. "Do you think that we should go meet Demeter? If she was the one to take away your power, then maybe she'll give them back if we can convince her"

"It's more of a lead than we've gotten this entire quest. We don't really have any other ideas," he noted. "Lady Artemis, do you have any idea where Demeter is?"

"The last I heard, she was in Iowa. She's probably on a farm somewhere, giving a lucky farmer a very bountiful crop"

"Thank you so much, Lady Artemis," said Annabeth, getting up and dusting off her pants.

"Yes, thank you," repeated Percy.

"One more thing, before you go. Demeter may seem tame in comparison to some of my other fellow gods and goddesses, but she is one of the most dangerous of us all. Be careful with her," cautioned Artemis.

"Of course," quipped Percy. "We won't underestimate the plant lady."

Annabeth shook her head, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards in an involuntary smile. She grabbed Percy's wrist and pulled him out of the tent, yelling another quick thanks over her shoulder as they left. Thalia was waiting outside, and her eyes conspicuously flicked down to where Annabeth was still holding his wrist, and back up towards their faces. Annabeth dropped his wrist awkwardly, and he moved a few steps away from her. Thalia shook her head in resignation and led them towards some tents they could use to bunk down for the night.

After Percy woke up, he and Annabeth got ready to set off to find Demeter. Although they had no clue how they were going to find the goddess in the miles and miles of farmland that was Iowa, they figured that once they got there they'd figure it out. The Hunters had given them a few of their fancy expandable tents, and had also loaded them up with other supplies, including a shiny new silver credit card, one that like the credit cards at the Lotus Hotel, had no limit. As Percy shouldered his surprisingly light bag and looked around for Annabeth, who was saying her goodbyes to Thalia, a Hunter ran up to him. It was the same girl that he had noticed earlier, and she had a backpack slung across her shoulders. She looked nervous, and before he could say anything she started to speak in a surprisingly sweet and nervous sounding voice.

"Listen, I'm really sorry to bother you guys, and I know that I have no right to barge in on your quest, but I can't stay here any longer," she lilted. "I have to know who my godly parent is, and this might be the only opportunity I get in a while to finally start looking for them. And three's a better number than two, right? Can I join you guys?"

Percy looked down at the girl, who had started to fiddle with a strand of silver hair, and tried to think of anything bad that would come of letting this girl join their quest. She had been with the Hunters for a month already, and if they had let her join them then she must be a good person, so he shouldn't have to worry about her going all Luke on him. You know what, he thought, why the hell not.

"Sure! I'm Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, and the girl with the curly blond hair over there is Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena."

"Oh my goodness, thank you so much," beamed the girl. "I'm Kali Lievesley, daughter of I have no clue, and I can't wait to get going!"

Annabeth finished talking to Thalia, and started to head back towards Percy and Kali. Her expression darkened when she saw Kali, and she stormed towards them, her anger written all across her face.

Kali squeaked, and tried to mask the sound with a cough. "I'm just going to… tell Thalia and the others where I'm going to be. Please don't leave without me!" She ran off towards the gaggle of Hunters watching them with interest as Annabeth drew closer.

"Why are you talking to that girl again? I don't like the look of her- I think she means trouble!" accused Annabeth. Percy scoffed.

"First of all, she's not 'that girl'; her name's Kali. And secondly, she's a really nice girl once you get to know her, and she just wants to figure out who her godly parent is!"

"That doesn't mean that she has to crash our quest to do it! Plus, I don't have a good feeling about her. I think that she's planning something."

"Well, the Hunters would have never accepted her if they didn't think that she was ok! And it's not _her_ fault that her parent hasn't claimed her yet!"

"Yeah, well, I don't blame them. If she was my daughter, I wouldn't want to claim her either!"

A hush fell over the camp as Kali stood just behind Percy, her lower lip quivering. "I'm s-sorry for t-trying to join your quest", she stammered, looking at the ground in an obvious attempt to conceal her tears. "I'll s-stay h-here with the H-Hunters."

Percy sighed. He really didn't want to have to tell Kali to stay, not when he had already promised her she could go. Besides, Annabeth was getting kind of out of hand. "You aren't staying anywhere. You're coming with on this quest, and Annabeth is going to shut her mouth and deal with it," he directed, giving Annabeth a Look™. "Now, if everyone has their stuff, let's get going."

And with that, the trio left the camp.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Percy tries to figure out what Annabeth has against Kali, and she and Kali bond over their shared Tragic™ stories while Percy is sleeping. Finals are over, for better or for worse, so updates will hopefully be more scheduled, and have a little more meat to them. I also switched the platform that I write on, so the text might look a little different now. Don't worry, this story is still going to be Percabeth, even though Kali's in the picture now.**

As they got to the bus station that they had arrived from, Percy pulled the rest of the group aside to confront the tension that had been brewing between Kali and Annabeth since they left the camp. Annabeth was obviously still upset that Percy had chosen Kali's side instead of hers (her words, not his) and Kali was painfully aware that she wasn't exactly wanted on the quest. Percy had to say something.

"Okay, guys, we have to figure this out before we get on a bus and have to spend hours together in three cramped seats. Annabeth, what is your deal? What do you have against Kali? She literally hasn't done anything to you; you basically just decided that you don't like her. What's up with that?"

Kali looked at the ground, looking pretty uncomfortable. Percy knew that she probably didn't want to be doing this, but he felt that it was going to be necessary if they were going to work together. Annabeth sighed, glaring at Percy. Percy glared back.

"Percy can we talk?"

"I thought that was what I brought you guys here to do?"

"No, like… in private. Without Kali"

Kali nodded, still looking at the ground. "I'll just walk over there and get our tickets. Is it ok if we take a Greyhound to Des Moines and then figure it out from there?"

Annabeth nodded, and Percy looked away from her towards Kali. "Thanks. Here's the credit card. You're the best!"

Kali took the card and walked away, glancing over her shoulder to make sure that they weren't going to tear each other apart as soon as she left. Percy looked back at Annabeth, staring her directly in the eyes to make sure that his words would sink in.

"Kali has done nothing to you. She is one of the sweetest human beings that I have ever met, and the whole way here she did nothing but talk about how grateful and happy she was to be going on this quest with us. As far as I can tell, she hasn't done a single bad thing in her life, even with the crappy thing that she's been dealt. So I'm going to ask you one more time- what the hell do you have against her?"

Annabeth bristled, clearly not expecting to be confronted. "Well, maybe I just think it's impossible to be that sweet and caring! She's hiding something, and that something is going to come back to bite us in the ass!"

"And if that happens, I will take the blame. But as far as I can tell, she just really wants to figure out who her godly parent is! We've had it pretty good- we were claimed almost right away, but she has no idea if her parent is even a god or a goddess, let alone who they are! Give her a goddamn break!"

"No, give me a break! You literally met her like an hour ago- how are you so content to bring a person you barely know on a life threatening quest? I think your judgement is impaired here. You saw a pretty face and you just accepted anything she told you!"

"That is not true. I am not just bringing her on this quest because of her looks! She deserves a chance, and I feel like as a fellow demigod, I should give her that chance!"

"You don't even know if she can protect herself! When you're stuck protecting her every single time that a monster comes along, you will regret letting her come along, and I'll say 'I told you so'!"

"You don't know that she can't protect herself! If she was with the Hunters for a whole month before we meet her, she has to have picked up something! And do you really think that Thalia would accept a completely hopeless fighter? She said that Kali was pretty good when we first saw her!"

"Well, she's been wrong before! She probably just wanted to get Kali off of her hands, and lied so that she could do it!"

"Seriously. You think that Thalia would do that? Kali is not that bad! You need to get off of your high horse and realize that there is literally no reason for you to hate her as much as you do!"

"No reason?! No reason?! I'm telling you now, when she stabs you in the back you will wish that you listened to me. I know that you only invited her on this quest because you think that she's pretty. I'm going to remind you that the Hunters can't have any romantic relations."

"Seriously. You really do think I'm that shallow."

"Yeah. I do."

They lapsed back into silence. Kali started back towards them, but seeing the looks on their faces, she turned back around and sat back down on a bench, next to two arguing men. Percy looked back at Annabeth, whose stormy gray eyes showed a stubbornness that he knew he could never beat.

"Listen. I get that you don't totally trust her yet, and that's okay. But you still have to be civil to her! So please. Just do this one thing for me."

"Fine. I won't be mean to her, but I won't be nice to her either. This is the best you're going to get."

"Okay! Thank you for being nice to a person who has only been nice to you," Percy said sarcastically.

Percy motioned for Kali to come back over, and as she walked back, Annabeth sighed.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered under her breath.

Percy glared at her. "Be nice," he whispered sharply.

Kali joined the group again, and she smiled awkwardly.

"So, did you guys sort some stuff out? I really hope you did, cause it was getting kind of weird, with you guys upset with each other all the time and me just… there. Anyways, I'm talking too much so… are we good?"

Percy smiled at the girl. Her excitement was contagious, and even though she was obviously a bit nervous, it was kind of endearing.

"Yeah, we're good. Right, Annabeth?"

She sighed again, very loudly, and looked up at Kali, pasting a fake smile on her face.

"Yeah, definitely."

"Okay, good! So, I got the tickets, and good news! We're on one of the good buses, and Annabeth, you can have the aisle seat. I know that's a big deal on planes, but it's still nice on buses, right? Anyways, I'm so happy we're cool now. I'm ranting, right? The bus is leaving for Des Moines in 15 minutes, so let's get going!"

She bounced off, with Annabeth trailing behind unhappily. Percy smiled. Things were finally going his way. Well, kinda.

*Annabeth's POV*

Percy fell asleep the second that he sat down in his seat, and although he was totally drooling all over Kali's shoulder, he still looked completely adorable. She kind of wished that she hadn't taken Kali up on her offer, cause then she could be the one who's shoulder Percy was resting on. Kali was smiling her sickeningly sweet smile, and and Annabeth found herself dreading having to spend an entire car ride with her. Maybe she should wake Percy up so that she didn't have to talk to the little impostor. She just knew that Kali was going to make a move on Percy, and even though she was still mad at him, she didn't want Percy dating anyone except for herm. Even his short stint with Rachel Dare was so hard for her to deal with, and he wasn't even that into her.

Kali looked back over at her, and hesitated, obviously trying to work up the courage to ask her something.

"Well, spit it out," Annabeth hissed.

"I was just wondering," Kali faltered. "Do you know why my parent hasn't claimed me yet? I've done everything right- I was patient, I was nice… any god or goddess would be happy to have me as their daughter. Right? I don't know… maybe I did something wrong and I didn't even know it."

Annabeth sighed. First she had to talk to the girl, next she had to comfort her?

"It's not your fault, the gods are just dicks. They usually wait until the worst possible moment to claim you."

"Well then, they should've claimed me years ago then," Kali scoffed under her breath.

Annabeth was intrigued. She kind of wanted to know this girl's backstory, even if it was just for the purpose of determining how Tragic™ her backstory was.

"What do you mean by that? I know that both of your parents left, but I don't really know much about you. What was your life like before you joined the Hunters?"

Kali brightened up, obviously a little excited that Annabeth was showing interest in getting to know her. She probably thought that Annabeth wanted to be friends.

"Are you sure you want to hear about it? It's pretty depressing."

"Why not? At this point, I feel like I've kind of seen it all."

"Okay. The second I was born, I was put up for adoption, and even though I was a pretty popular baby at the orphanage cause of my… unusual hair color, but every couple that tried to adopt me either got divorced or decided that they weren't ready for kids yet. Eventually, the orphanage ran out of room, so I grew up bouncing around the foster care system until I was nine, and a couple adopted me.

Turns out, they didn't even want a kid, they just adopted me so that I would take care of their baby after school while they went out and got drunk, or high, or whatever. Eventually, I figured out that that wasn't right, and not how regular families worked, but I was too attached to my baby sister to leave her. So, I didn't tell anybody what was going on, and raised her all by myself. Even though it was rough, I held on by thinking about the day that I would turn eighteen and be able to get guardianship of my little sister. It was all I had to live for, until a rabid centaur showed at my house and tried to kill me. I realize now that it was probably my demigod stink that attracted him there, and I'm actually kind of surprised that he managed to sniff me out over the smell of the alcohol and weed, which is probably the reason that I stayed safe from monsters for so long. Maybe that centaur just had a really good nose? I don't know. But I grabbed my sister and hid in the closet.

When I finally opened the door, I saw Thalia, who was fighting the centaur. She was losing, and when the centaur went in for the kill blow I stabbed him from behind with a kitchen knife. Obviously, it didn't do anything, but it distracted him just long enough for Thalia to kill him. She then realized that I actually saw the centaur, and not some sort of weird Mist excuse, and told me the deal about Greek gods, me being a demigod, and et cetera. She gave me the choice of joining the Hunters, and I declined. She told me that they were still going to be in town for another week, so if I changed my mind, I knew where to find them. Two days later, my little sister got hit by a car. My adoptive parents' car. Child Services took us away from them, and a day later, I joined the Hunters. I talked about it with her in the hospital, and she said that it was going to be the best option for us. Lady Artemis posed as a woman interested in adopting me, and with a little magic and a little Mist manipulation, she was my guardian, and I was free to go. And so I ended up with the Hunters."

Annabeth leaned back in her chair, a little shocked. She thought that she had a rough childhood, but this was rough with a capital R.

"Jeez, that's… intense."

"Yeah, sort of. So, what was your deal?"

Annabeth was a little surprised by how easily Kali shrugged off her sympathy, but decided it wasn't really her problem.

"Oh, you know, mean stepmom, distant dad, the regular deal," she said.

They lapsed back into silence. Kali stared out the window, watching the world pass by. Eventually, the bus stopped for a break and she got up, presumably heading in to use the bathroom. After ten minutes, she returned, sat down again and started to braid her hair back, sectioning off the unbroken sheet of her hair. As her deft fingers manipulated strands of molten silver, Annabeth watched absentmindedly. She was thinking about what Kali had told her. It seemed impossible to her that Kali could be such a good person despite all that had happened to her. It would be so easy to become bitter and mean, but she held on hope. It was commendable, that was for sure. Maybe Kali wasn't as bad as Annabeth had thought. Just then, as they stopped for the second time, Percy woke up, sleepy eyed and bleary.

"Yo, are we there yet?"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Filler chapter, so it's kind of short. Percy has a dream, and they figure out where Demeter could be. I didn't fail any finals, so that's good, but this is the last chapter that I had pre written, so there might not be a chapter next Friday. We'll see.**

Percy fell asleep almost right after they got on the bus. His dreams were weird, with the mysterious girl showing up quite a few times. He couldn't see her, but her honey sweet voice guided him through a maze of wheat that reached far above his head to the clear blue sky. The wheat seemed endless, and even with the girl to give him directions, he soon grew tired. No matter how exactly he followed what she said, he still ended up in the same place where he started, marked by a tree stump rising out of the ground. He eventually just sat on the stump, exhausted and hot with the sweltering sun pouring down on him, even through the wheat. No matter how the girl's voice urged him on, he couldn't find the strength to get up. He sat there for a long time, and eventually the voice disappeared. He had begun to think that the girl was never there in the first place when all of a sudden, the dream shifted.

He was hidden in a crevice in what seemed to be a dark cavern, lit only by some sort of moss that glowed a bright teal on the walls. There was another thing in the room, an ominous presence, one that scared him enough that he didn't try to lean out to see who it was. Not yet. He could hear footsteps approaching the cavern from the passageway to his left, so he flattened himself even more into the crevice. Even though this was a dream, he was pretty sure that if he was discovered by the presence he would not leave unharmed. A boy, maybe twelve or thirteen entered the room from the passageway, holding a dish filled with something that Percy couldn't quite see.

"My lady, word has come from our operative. She is close to achieving her objective, but she wishes to speak with you."

Percy leaned out a little more to see who the boy was speaking to, and saw a large woman, with a shadowed face who sat on a black throne. He immediately knew that the woman was the source of the presence he felt earlier, and he wanted to lean back, and hide, but he was transfixed by her. Next to her were two black panthers, who seemed to be fighting. Although they were tearing pieces of each other's flesh off, not a sound escaped them. As one of them went in for the kill, the woman waved her hand and the panthers were both healed, only to go at each other again in a vicious cycle.

"Very well," she said, in a soft voice that somehow seemed more dangerous than even Zeus' booming timbres. "Prepare the message"

The boy murmured some words over the bowl, which Percy could now see had a metallic substance that was sloshing around in it. He then held it in front of the woman's face, who leaned down to presumably look into the dish. A girl's voice emerged from the dish, and even though Percy had never been here in his life, he could've sworn it sounded familiar.

"My lady, I need your advice. I am trying my best to create discord but…"

As Percy was wiggling in his crevice to try to get a better view he had knocked a large rock off of a shelf, which was now rolling out of the crevice and landing at the boy's feet.

"We are being watched," whispered the boy, obviously fearing the woman's retaliation.

She lifted herself from her enormous throne and started to stalk over to where Percy was hidden. He desperately tried to wake up, but with no avail. Her large hand reached in and as she fished around, trying to drag him out, Percy felt a large jolt and was brought back to reality by the bus stopping. He opened his eyes sleepily and saw that they had stopped again.

Percy was relieved when they finally got to Des Moines. Even though it seemed like the girls had worked out some stuff while he was asleep, they still weren't best friends yet. He still couldn't stop thinking about his dream, though. He felt like the woman was going to be important later on, and he racked his brain, trying to think of who she could be. He looked around, trying to see if anyone had followed them from Milwaukee, but found no one. As they stepped off the bus into the dingy bus station, he turned to Annabeth.

"You have any idea where to go from here?" he asked. "Not that I don't think that the city is beautiful, but I've got a feeling that we aren't going to find Demeter here."

"True, but I don't really have an idea of how we're going to find her. I mean, Iowa's got acres upon acres of farmland, and she could be anywhere"

"Why don't we go to the library?" Kali volunteered. She faltered, her eyes going from the ground back up to their eyes. "You could look in newspapers to see if any local farmers' failing crops have suddenly flourished. I bet that they won't be on the front of any major newspapers, but maybe the small town rags?"

"That's… actually a pretty good idea," Annabeth pointed out. "We could log on to one of the public computers, and look online."

"Okay," Percy responded, glad that at least they weren't fighting. "Let's head over to the library, I guess. Do either of you have a map?"

They got to the library after having to ask directions from about a dozen people on the streets. Annabeth walked up the front steps of the very modern looking building, with Percy and Kali trailing behind. Percy had a thought, and jogged up to Annabeth to ask her about it.

"Hey, I get that you're like, a special demigod and you don't have dyslexia or whatever, but I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be, especially since we're going to be reading a lot."

"Shoot, I didn't really think about that. Umm… can you go ask Kali if she's dyslexic too? I really don't want to have to be doing this by myself."

"Yeah, sure."

Percy slowed down, and waited for Kali to catch up. He paused outside of the door, and she paused too.

"Hey, do you know if you're dyslexic? I get that it's a weird question to ask, but it's really common among demigods. Our brains are programmed for Ancient Greek instead of English, so it makes reading kind of hard."

"I don't really know. I guess it would explain a lot of the trouble that I had in school, but I guess nobody cared enough to get me diagnosed," she mused.

Percy didn't really know what that meant, but he wasn't going to comment. She would tell him when she was ready, and he wouldn't push it. Besides, it was pretty common for demigods to have a sucky childhood.

"Well, let's give it a shot, and if the letters start swimming before your eyes, well, then you'll know. Come on, let's go help Annabeth before she starts complaining."

They walked into the library, nodding to the lady behind the deck, who eyed them with suspicion. They looked pretty odd, walking into the library while school was in session, and Kali's pretty conspicuous scar probably didn't help matters. But, she couldn't do anything yet, so she let them come in. Percy immediately spotted Annabeth on one of the computers against the wall. They made a beeline towards her, and as they got closer, she looked up.

"Hey. Log on to a computer, and let's get going. We've been monster free for too long, and I'm getting nervous"

They walked over to the bank of computers right next to Annabeth, and started to search.

After a half hour, Percy had to stop, because the letters were started to make nonsensical words, but as he was wandering around the library, looking for anybody that might be a monster, he heard Annabeth cry out in excitement. He walked back over to where Kali and Annabeth were sitting at the computers, and leaned over to look at Annabeth's screen. It was the website of the newspaper of a town called Decorah. The headline said, in big block letters

"Local Farmer's Crops Yield An Impossible Harvest"

Percy nodded, looking at the article a little more. There was a quote from the farmer, testifying that his farm was failing and he was about to sell it when all of a sudden, practically overnight, his fields were full and flourishing.

"Looks like that's our guy. Let's head back to the bus station and see if there's any way that we could get to Decorah"


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi again! I took a pretty long break with this fic because I was feeling under a lot of stress to get this story done. I'm trying to finally finish this fic but I can't promise any sort of consistent update schedule.**

 **—**

They called a cab, and used the Hunters' silver credit card to pay for the ride to Decorah, and were there in just under 4 hours. As they rolled through the town's streets, they realized how late at night it was. They had spent almost the whole day in Des Moines and in the cab. Annabeth directed the cab to a nearby motel, and they were checked in in no time. There was only one room available, which made sleeping a little awkward. Thankfully, there was a rollout bed in addition to the king, which Annabeth immediately volunteered to take, to Percy's disappointment. Although he didn't really feel comfortable sleeping with either of the girls, he barely knew Kali, so he would've preferred to have to sleep in the same bed as Annabeth.

They all changed into their pajamas from the duffel that Annabeth had packed before they left camp, and got into bed. Kali fell asleep right away, and Percy could hear her snoring softly, in a really cute way. He couldn't get to sleep himself, partly because he was afraid of the dreams that might ambush him, and partly because he couldn't stop thinking of what had happened between him and Annabeth. He still had no clue what he had done to offend her, and he couldn't stop thinking of the way she looked late at night when she was stabbing that mannequin with her dagger. How hurt she looked, and how the tears streamed down her face as she screamed at him. What could he have possibly done to provoke that reaction? What had he done?

When Percy woke up, the first thing that he noticed were the warm limbs wrapped around him. Apparently, Kali was a cuddler. He disentangled himself from her, and walked over to the bathroom to brush his teeth. When he got back to the main room, both Kali and Annabeth were up, yawning and rubbing at their eyes. They quickly got ready for the day, and went out towards the curb to hitch a ride to the farm where the miracle had occurred.

Annabeth took out the newspaper article that she had printed in Des Moines, and directed the driver to the address of the farmer that had been featured in the article. The cab dropped them off at the driveway, and as they walked towards the picturesque farmhouse, Percy marveled at the farmland all around them. All of the farms that they had passed on the way hadn't exactly been thriving, and a lot of crops looked sickly and stunted. But as he looked over the rolling fields, he marveled at the sheer amount of green that he could see. Even the crops that he knew it wasn't the right season for were flourishing, and he could no longer doubt that this had been the work of Demeter.

As they stepped onto the porch, Kali reached out and knocked on the door of the rundown looking house. A harried looking woman stepped out, already speaking.

"Please, go away! We don't have time for any more reporters today," she said, shooing them away without even looking at them. Percy opened his mouth, about to try and persuade her into letting them in, when Kali started to speak.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but we aren't reporters. We were looking for someone, and we were wondering if you had seen her," said Kali, suddenly converting into a charming young lady instead of the shy girl Percy had seen up until then. "You see, she's our aunt, and she disappeared a while ago. We were super close with her, and since we were already in town, we thought we would look here. She always loved plants, and we just wanted to come over to see if she had shown up here. She would've wanted to see this miracle so bad, it would be one of the most amazing things to her. We know it's a long shot, but we can't give up on her."

The woman's face softened a little, and she stopped trying to get them off of the porch. Even though Kali's story was questionable at best, it seemed to be convincing her, and even though she still wouldn't let them in, she wasn't trying to get them off the property either. Kali seemed to have figured that out, and looked to the ground before looking up again, with a tear going down her face.

"We know that we probably won't find her here, but we just miss her so much. It feels like the right thing to do. You know, to remember her." Kali's acting was impressive, and even Percy was almost convinced that they really did have a missing aunt.

"Oh, well, I guess that we might make an exception just this once…. Here, come on in, and tell me a little more about your aunt. Lots of people have come around since the miracle, and I might've seen her."

The woman let them in the door, and lead them through the entry hallway around to the kitchen counter. They sat down on the stools, as she handed them glasses of milk, and a plate of brownies, which Percy dug into right away. The woman leaned back on the counter behind her, sipping from a mug of coffee.

"I know this has probably been kind of hard for you, what with all of the reporters coming round and disturbing your life, so we really appreciate you doing this for me," said Kali, dipping her brownie in milk.

"Yeah," said Annabeth, catching on to what Kali was doing. "We really appreciate you doing this for us. We just… we just miss our aunt so much"

"Oh, my poor dears," the woman said, holding a hand against her heart. "Of course. You know, it's always so sad to see these kind of tragedies. I'd love to help. What does your aunt look like?"

Annabeth and Percy exchanged looks. They had meet Demeter before, in the gods' throne room after the Second Titan War, but she hadn't really talked much, and they didn't remember her that much.

"She has long… blond hair, and she… has blue? eyes, and she looks to be around 40," said Annabeth, looking to Percy for confirmation.

"Yeah, and she kind of looks like a hippy, with like, flower crowns and everything. Now that I think about it, it's possible that she came before your crops started growing, but she could've come after too."

The woman looked a little thrown off by the fact that they didn't quite seem to be sure what their aunt looked like, but she still nodded her head.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I think I did see her before the thing with our crops. She actually came by the day before the thing happened, so that we could take her on a tour of the farm. Before we got all the press, we used to run tours as a side business for a little extra cash. We have a few historical buildings on site, and some people are interested in them. Anyways, she came around for the tour, although she seemed to care more about our plants than the buildings. I've seen her around in town a few times after that, but I'm not really sure where she's staying, because I know she's not staying in the motel in town. One of my friends owns the motel, and when I asked her about if your aunt was still staying in town, she said that she never stayed there."

"Yep, that sounds like our aunt," said Kali, jumping in. "She's always been, you know," she twirled her finger around her head "a little off."

"Do you think that you could take us on the same tour?" asked Percy. "We could maybe get a feel for where she went, and stuff like that"

The woman nodded her head. "Yeah, I could take you. My husband, Micah, is out in the fields right now, so I won't be able to give you the complete tour, but I can definitely show you around a bit."

Annabeth looked at Percy, and he could see the question brewing in her stormy eyes. She seemed to be asking; _what if Demeter is still here on the farm?_ He responded, _that makes sense. If she didn't leave, that would explain how the crops seem to still be growing rapidly, and that she hasn't been staying at a motel._

Kali's head swayed back and forth as she tracked their silent conversation. She eventually seemed got tired of being excluded, though.

"Okay then," she said, clapping her hands. "Let's get going!"

After having searched almost all of the buildings, Percy was feeling more than a bit discouraged. After showing them to the last building they had seen, she had left, mumbling something about needing to go back to the house. As they approached the only remaining building, he scuffed at the dirt with his shoes. Demeter had probably already left. There was no real reason for her to be sticking around after performing her little miracle, and maybe the continued growth of the crops was just due to the traces of her power. Annabeth opened the door of the building, and they peered in. Percy didn't see anything of note, just a empty stone room and a few miscellaneous bits of plant matter and dust.

He turned to Annabeth to tell her that they must have been wrong and that they should go, when he saw her eyes widen. He followed her eyes to see a middle aged woman with long blond hair standing in the middle of the building where before there had only been empty space. It was her. Demeter.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This chapter is basically an info dump, but do I feel bad about it? No. Anyways, I think we maybe have like 3 chapters left? Maybe 4? We're getting near the end of this thing, that's all I know. I made up a lot of the backstory in this chapter because I couldn't be bothered to find a myth that fit close enough.**

 **—**

Right away, both Annabeth and Kali kneeled as they faced the goddess. Percy stood for a few more seconds until Annabeth, tugged him down, muttering something under her breath. Percy peered up from where he was kneeling and saw Demeter looking at them with her intense gaze, Kali in particular.

"Rise, brave demigods," she said, still peering at them intently.

They stood up, and Annabeth opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Demeter.

"I know you two, Annabeth Chase and Perseus Jackson, but I do not know this other demigod. I cannot ascertain your heritage, young lady, which is most peculiar. Who is your godly parent?"

Kali stepped forward, still looking down at the ground instead of at the goddess.

"I do not know, my lady, as I have not been claimed yet. I joined the Hunters only a few months ago, and left to help Percy and Annabeth on their quest".

Demeter sighed. "Typical of my godly relatives not to claim one of their own. You are not one of mine, however, and you are definitely not one of the Olympians' children. I have spent millennia at the sides of my fellow Olympians, and I know their power better than anyone else. You bear no trace of any of them."

Kali nodded, stepping back to where Annabeth and Percy were standing. Percy could see that she was trying her best to fix a indifferent expression on her face, but he could still see her disappointment shining through.

Demeter had apparently also seen the let down expression on Kali's face, and her expression softened. "I'm sorry that I can not find out who your godly parent is, my child, but I can help you with your quest. I have heard that young Perseus here has lost his powers".

Percy nodded. "Yep. I woke up one day and they were just gone. Lady Artemis told us that you were in a argument with my father. Did you take them away?"

Annabeth turned to him, probably a bit shocked that he would ask the goddess straight away. _Whatever_ , thought Percy. _She should be used to me treating gods with disrespect by now. I saved the world for them, what are they going to do?_

Demeter, however, didn't seem to be offended. She sighed, and nodded. "Yes, Perseus, yes I did. I do not know what came over me, but after fighting with your father, I just had to do something to get him back. I am not usually this petty, but all the fighting up in Olympus had been getting on my nerves, and I was rash."

Percy blinked, surprised that the goddess had actually admitted her wrongdoing. The Olympians never admitted that they weren't right, since their pride ran deep.

"I will give your powers back to you, Perseus, but before I do I need your help. You young demigods have proven to be adept at quests, and I have a another one for you. I regret to extend your quest even longer, but it is needed."

Demeter seemed to wilt into herself, and she looked around the room quickly, before stepping closer to Percy, Annabeth, and Kali. She leaned in, and started speaking quickly to the demigods, obviously desperate for no one else to hear her.

"Olympus is in chaos. Everyone is arguing with everybody, even Hestia, who has always been the most civil amongst us. It is madness".

"Hold on," said Kali. "Isn't this kind of normal for the gods? You are always fighting. In fact, that's how most of the myths start. With you guys fighting."

Demeter nodded. "Yes, we do have squabbles, but never this bad. I do not even know what to do to stop all of this. Anything I say is taken as an insult, and I only have enemies in the Olympian council. I have always been a peaceful goddess, but lately it has taken all of my power to keep myself from doing anything else rash in retaliation against my fellow Olympians".

"No offense, but what do you want us to do about this," asked Percy. "Unless you want us to call up a family therapist or something, there's really nothing we can do."

"Normally, yes." Demeter said. "If this was just another one of the council's problems, I would not have asked you for help. But this isn't normal, and I think I know why. It is Eris."

"Eris?" Annabeth asked. "The goddess of discord? Chiron said that she had been locked away in Tartarus years ago, after trying to dethrone the council. He said that Eris could never get out, and that was why we would never need a cabin in Camp Half-Blood for her children."

"Yes, we did lock her away, eons ago. Her attempt was clumsy, and obvious. She tried to topple us with her army of her siblings, other children of Nyx, but they stood no chance against us. We threw all of them into the pit, and cursed them all so that they would forever wander the wastes of Tartarus, never able to find the way out."

"Then why do you think that Eris is causing all of this?" Percy asked. "If she's cursed to stay in Tartarus forever, it can't be her"

"I believe that instead of finding a way out, Eris has decided to make one. She has managed to make a portal to the mortal world with the help of the rest of the gods and goddesses trapped down there. She is able to send a large portion of her power and consciousness through, even if her physical body isn't able to leave Tartarus."

"That's good then," said Percy. "That means that she wont be able to do much damage here without her body."

"I'm afraid you misunderstand," sighed Demeter. "For us gods, our physical body is only a container for all our might. With most of her power through the portal, Eris will be able to do much more than I thought possible. I believe that her power is what has triggered all of this fighting. She has learned her lesson from the last time, and has leaned towards subtlety this time. She will slowly crumble the Olympians from within, and when the time comes when we are weakened enough for there curse to be lifted, she will ride into Olympus and overthrow us, creating a world of darkness and discord."

"This sounds great and all, but I have no guarantee that you will even give me my powers back after all of this," said Percy.

"Very well then. I swear upon the river Styx that if you thwart Eris, I will return your powers back to you."

Annabeth stepped forward, desperate to regain control of the conversation once more. "Okay Demeter, we'll complete this quest. But do you have any idea where Eris is, or where the most of her power is?"

"I do in fact know of this. I sent a few of my nymphs across the country to find her. They ascertained her whereabouts to be near the Civil War Cave in Ozark, Missouri."

"Hold on," said Kali. "Are we seriously doing this? We were pretty sure that Demeter wouldn't hurt us, so I was ok with trying to find her, but this Eris chick sounds pretty dangerous. Shouldn't we leave this to someone more experienced?"

"Oh Kali," said Annabeth. "We are the most experienced."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Lots of angst in this chapter, and a bit of swearing. I know that in the last chapter I said it would be only a few more chapters until the end of this story, but this chapter got a little bit out of hand so it will probably end around Chapter 15 or so.**

 **—**

After their conversation with Demeter, Percy, Kali and Annabeth left the farm, waving goodbye to the woman who had helped them on their way out. Annabeth left to go order a cab, and to find a water fountain so that she could talk to Chiron to warn him about Eris' plan. Kali sat down on a bench a little ways away from Percy, and watched two birds have a tug a war with a piece of bread.

Percy sat down on another bench and started to think. They had solved the mystery of his powers disappearing, but it seemed that he and Annabeth were in for a lot more than they had bargained for when they left Camp Half-Blood. He was tired of being one of the gods' pawns, being tugged around the playing board and forced to do everything for them. He knew that he couldn't really change anything about it, but he was still upset. It seemed that every time that he thought that he was finally done, that maybe the world didn't need saving again, he was dragged back in. He just wanted to finish high school, go to college, and then have a normal life with Annabeth.

But that would never happen. His birthright was to be used, to be just another toy for the gods to play with until they got tired of him and threw him away. And even though some of the Olympians were kind of nice, like Hestia, and Artemis, and his dad, he knew that his life was just a blip in time for them, a single second in the eons of their existence.

It sucked being a demigod, but at least he met some wonderful people through the the years. Annabeth, and Grover, and hell, even Clarisse. He couldn't change his parents, but he could make the most of it. Maybe being a demigod was horrible, and maybe he wished it didn't happen, but he was stuck with it, so he might as well enjoy the fun parts as well as mourn the sad parts.

Percy was awoken from his introspective rant when Annabeth came back, looking pissed. She walked towards him, glaring at him fiercely, and Percy started to get worried. He didn't know what he had done yet, but whenever Annabeth looked like that, it was never good.

"Percy, where is the credit card that Artemis gave us? I just tried to order a cab, and when I looked for the card I couldn't find it. I know that I gave it to you to put away after using it to pay for the cab here, and it's not in any of our bags or with me or Kali."

"I know that I put it in the silver bag with the rest of the stuff from the Hunters. You probably just missed it the first time. Here, give it to me and I'll check it."

"I checked it three times, and I couldn't find it. If you've lost it, we'll have no way to get to Missouri, and I will be seriously pissed."

Kali looked over to see them arguing, and as she looked back at the ground, Percy could have sworn that he saw the hint of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. He was glad that someone thought it was funny, because if he didn't have this credit card, Annabeth might not forgive him.

"Relax, Annabeth," he sighed, "I probably just forgot to put it away in the bags and it's still in my pocket."

Percy patted down his jacket and then his jeans, but he couldn't find the card. He took off his jacket and turned the pockets inside out, but there was nothing there besides a few quarters and a straw piece of gum.

Annabeth covered her face with her hands, and ran her fingers through her curly straw hair in frustration. She sighed loudly, and kicked one of the bags angrily.

"Percy, I swear to god, I gave you one job, and you screwed it up like always. Now I'm going to have to fix your mess, and I am not in the mood for that today."

"Whoa, Annabeth, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?" said Kali, who had walked over from her bench when Percy couldn't find the credit card in his pockets. "I'm sure we'll be able to find some way to Missouri."

"That's not what this is about, Kali. This is always what happens. Percy screws up, and then I have to fix everything for him so that he can save the world again and get all the credit for it. I'm so sick of all of it!"

Percy was starting to get mad. Sure, he screwed up with the credit card, and that was totally on him, but Annabeth was totally overreacting. He didn't always screw everything up, and Annabeth didn't need to fix everything when he did screw up. He was perfectly capable of doing it himself. And it wasn't his fault that he always got all the credit! Annabeth was just jealous that she wasn't the one who fought against Kronos.

"You know what, Annabeth," he said, almost shouting by now, "if you're so sick of 'cleaning up my messes' then why don't you just leave then. I don't need you. I can finish this quest on my own. I know that you think that I don't know how to do anything, but I've survived without you before, and I can do it again now."

A silence fell on the group. Kali had been mostly staying out of the argument since she had accidentally provoked Annabeth, but now she stepped forwards between them. She held out her hands to separate them, and turned to Percy.

"Hold on, you guys. I think that we all got a little bit frustrated, and we've been pretty on edge after meeting with Demeter. Let's all just take a step back and regroup."

"No!" Annabeth shouted. "I'm done holding back so that Percy can feel better about himself." She turned on Kali, yelling at her now.

"You're on his side, aren't you? All you're doing is just trying to make me feel bad about hurting his precious little feelings. I knew that you were trouble the second that you waked up to us back at the Hunters' camp. You're useless. You've done nothing to help us since you got here, and I've had to do everything myself. Who found Demeter? I did. Who got us to Decorah? I did. You're nothing but a no good bitch who's own parents didn't even want you!"

Kali's face went white, and Percy could see tears forming in her eyes. She sniffed, once, and then twice and ran off in the other direction, startling the birds who were still fighting over their pathetic morsel of bread.

That did it for Percy. Annabeth could yell at him all that she wanted, but Kali was a kind girl who just wanted to help them. Percy rarely got really mad, but when people hurt his friends he hits his breaking point.

"What is wrong with you," he asked, deadly silent. "Kali has been nothing but kind to you ever since she joined us, and you have been treating her like scum. You barely ever look at her, and you try your best to pretend like she doesn't exist. I thought that after you guys talked on the bus you had made up, and sure, you were nice to her for a few hours, but then you just went back to treating her like the dirt under your heel."

"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you! We've been friends for like six years now, and you are going to throw all of that away for her? You barely even know her!"

"No, I don't know her. But I don't think I know you either anymore. I am going to call Chiron, and figure out a way to get me and Kali to Missouri. You, however, will be going back to Camp Half-Blood, and when me and Kali get back from taking down Eris, you are never going to speak to me again. Whatever we had between us after that kiss in the lake is gone. Now, grab your stuff, and get the hell out of here. You're smart, you can figure out your own way back to Manhattan."

Annabeth seemed a bit shocked, like she didn't think that he would actually kick her off of the quest. _Well, tough luck_ , thought Percy. _She did this to herself_. He watched her pick up her bag and walk away until she turned the corner and was gone. He looked towards where Kali had run off to, and saw her standing a few feet behind him, eyes blown wide open.

"Why would you do that?" Kali asked.

"You're my friend, Kali," said Percy. "And nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it.

"Isn't Annabeth your friend too?"

"No," he said. "Not anymore."


End file.
